Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze says if the City Hall does not take appropriate decisions regarding the availability of public transport, it will be physically impossible to move around the city in 5 years. He announced this before the municipal government meeting, held on Wednesday.
Kakha Kaladze released the statistical data about the number of cars in Tbilisi today and noted that these numbers reveal the dire situation in the capital city of Tbilisi.
"I would like to provide you with statistics on how the number of private cars is increasing over the years. I am sure the public will make an assessment and see how many problems the capital city is facing. In 2017, the number of car owners was about 31%, today this number reaches 48%. We have an average annual growth of 8-9%. In 5-7 years we will reach the Europe by car ownership - 70%. However, we should not forget that in European countries, only 8% of the population uses a car for 5 or more days, because public transport is developed and eco-friendly transport is used, in Georgia this data is equal to 92%, which is a very high indicator.
In 2012, 250,000 private cars moved in Tbilisi, in 2017 this number increased to 380,000. According to the statistics, 600,000 more cars move in Tbilisi during peak hours, this is a very large number. Besides, we all know the streets of our capital and this number is growing.
If we do not take appropriate decisions regarding the further availability, speed, and comfort of public transport, it will be physically impossible to move around the city in the next 5 years," explained Kaladze.
